The present invention relates to a particle separator.
In FIG. 1 is shown a prior art vertical cyclone separator which has been widely used because of its relatively high collection efficiency and simple construction, but it has some problems to be described below.
Firstly, it has a high pressure loss. Because of its underlying principle or structural feature, an upwardly spiralling vortex is forcibly formed at the inside of a double vortex, thus resulting in the consumption of large energy. For instance, in the case of a single stage, the pressure loss amounts to from 100 to 150 mmAq while in the case of a four stage, it becomes as high as from 400 to 600 mmAq. Such high pressure losses mean the high power consumption by a blower and/or an exhaust fan. Secondly, there exists limitations on the attempts of reducing its size. In order to attain a high collection efficiency, both the inlet and outlet velocities must be maintained from 10 to 20 m/sec. As a result, the axial velocity (which is defined as the ratio of the flow rate to the cross section of the cylinder c) becomes as low as less than 5 m/sec. In addition, because it is a vertical type, the cone d must be provided so that the increase in height results.
In FIG. 1 the solid-line arrow indicates the gas flow while the dotted-line arrow, the particle flow from the inlet a to the outlet b.
In view of the above, the primary object of the present invention is to provide a particle separator which consumes less power and can be made very compact in size.
In brief, according to the present invention, the power consumption of blowers and exhaust fans can be reduced; the pressure loss can be minimized; the capacity of a single-stage separator can be increased; and the height can be reduced so that the overall height of a multi-stage particle separation installation can be made low.
The above and other objects, features and effects of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments of the present invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.